Witchyman by K.B. Hill + Giveaway

This is, hands down, the most disturbing book I’ve ever read. I honestly didn’t know if I would be able to finish it due to its content. I finished it anyway because the tension kept me on the edge of my seat, but now it’s just really hard to rate it. Let’s see what happens while writing the review!

~Goodreads Synopsis~

“Witchyman is a fictional story based on an urban legend from a suburb in Winnipeg, Canada. Kristian James, an artist based in Los Angeles, has recently created a series of creepy sketches, only to realize they are a reflection of memories from her childhood. She lands a showing of her work at a local art gallery. The gallery owner, a lovely, flamboyant man named Gustavo, sees their potential, as they draw people in because they are so dark.

When news of her good fortune hits the newspapers in Winnipeg, the subject of her sketches, the real Witchyman, realizes she must know who he is, as the likeness to the photograph of her work is unmistakable. He knows he must go to Los Angeles to find this artist to silence her. After years of trying to distance himself from a violent past, he resurfaces in the big city and is seduced by the underbelly of society there, as well as by the glamor and lifestyle of this artist and her friends. Unable to control his darkness, he begins to take Kris’ life apart, once more.”

When I first read about the book, I thought this would be sweet because I truly love me some urban legend. Ghost stories about men with hooks for hands sprang to mind and I was thrilled when I could finally start reading Witchyman.

After one or two chapters, I realised that this is far more disturbing than any of the stories I had in mind. A few pages in, a very young girl was already being beaten and raped. The being beaten and raped part turned out to be one of the main threads in the book.

As I have mentioned in some of my previous reviews, I have a really hard time reading about rape, especially when it’s being told in a raw and explicit kind of way. This was raw and explicit alright. The fact that during the first part of the book, the victims are exclusively little children made my stomach turn and I seriously had to put the book down a couple of times because I felt so upset about it. How on earth was I going to rate and review this? Let alone finish it?! Let me tell you this, if it wasn’t for the writing in itself and the building of the tension, I would’ve DNF’d it right then and there.

If I have to describe what this book is about (forget about the synopsis, I’m talking about what the book is really about, and the feels of it), I’d say imagine a more talkative version of Michael Myers without the mask, who’s raping his victims before, during, and after he kills them.

I once started a book by Karen Slaughter about a guy who liked to cut a hole into women’s stomachs, and then rape them straight into their intestines. I did not finish that book, no matter how many people kept telling me how good it was.

‘Luckily’ for me, this didn’t involve that kind of rape, but it was still just incredibly fucked up (no pun intended). We’re talking about a psychopath who can only get sexually aroused when his victim is physically and mentally suffering. And just thinking about that kind of stuff gives him a hard on. Yes, he gets hard. A LOT. Remember the cock diagram I drew a while ago? If not, you can find it here. There’s a similar formula to all the rape scenes as well, yet here we can replace cock with ‘hard on’/ ‘getting hard’. And the rest is just punching and pain.

The murders were a bit more versatile: suffocating, stabbing, strangling someone with a fish line…lovely. Yet that kind of stuff (which is obviously also very disturbing), I can take. I love horror flicks and gore, and even if I’m somewhat scared of knives in real life, I don’t ‘mind’ seeing a person getting stabbed in a horror movie. Heck, I watched all Halloween movies/sequels plus countless of other horror fests.

Getting back to the Michael Myers overlap, I think this still shot of him (up) and the creepy clown from American Horror Story: Freak Show (below) really depicts the kind of tension you can expect in Witchman.

I don’t know how these guys do it, but they can always find you. Always. And, of course, there’s the therapist who never believes the victim, which is the case in this book as well.

So how was I able to finish it if I had such issues with the sexual content? I already mentioned the writing and the tension. There’s hardly any criticism from my side when it comes to the general writing style, apart from the switching of POV’s in the middle of a paragraph; that was pretty confusing. Other than that, I wasn’t able to tell that this is the author’s first novel. The story is disgusting, disturbing and sometimes, quite repetitive, yet you just keep turning them pages! I really wanted a happy ending and let the serial killer/rapist get a taste of his own medicine (a.k.a. DIE BITCH, DIE!!). If you want to know if that particular ending was granted to me, I suggest you read the book yourself *zips lips*.

The story takes place alternately in the fancy suburbs of Los Angeles and the cold harsh climate in Winnipeg. Even though the Winnipeg murders and eery atmosphere there were creepy as fuck, I still loved reading about the forest, the trees in it and the meandering paths inside of the forest. The author did a great job describing the beauty of it all, that’s for sure. She was inspired by the Wildwood Park (also in Winnipeg) where she actually grew up and where some similar events took place when she was a little girl.

I absolutely love the forest and this picture of Wildwood Park looks beautiful. However, play some creepy music in the background while looking at it, and imagine it’s dark and cold…anything could be lurking around that corner. Witchyman is still pure fiction, though, but…yikes!

The characters: don’t get too attached to them. You never know who might die all of a sudden! My favourite character was probably Sheila, though, because she’s just such a calm and friendly person. Kris, the main character, didn’t leave that much of an impression on me. The big bad guy: yeah, he had a rough childhood. So did a lot of people. None of the people that I know of have turned into a psychopath. Unless they’re hiding it really well *looks over shoulder in complete paranoia*

All and all, I can honestly say this was not my cup of tea because of the massive amounts of rape. I know there are some sick people out there in the real world who really are like the Witchyman, and this gives us a brilliant look into their minds, but still, I personally don’t like to read about it. If the sexual part would’ve been more subtle, though, I most likely would’ve found it awesome because I dig all the other shit in the story. Sadly, I can’t overlook this issue and that’s why I’m giving it 2.5 brownies. This is my personal opinion, though, and if you have a stronger gut/less ‘crying over killed puppies in fiction’-sensitivity than I do, you’re going to love this story. For a chance at trying out your courage/ethical boundaries, keep on reading because there’s a giveaway of the book at the end of this post!

A big thank you to K.B.Hill for sending me a (physical!) copy in exchange for an honest review!

~About the Author~

K.B. Hill, born in 1967 in Winnipeg, Canada, to professor of architecture, Carl Nelson, and ornithologist, Colleen Helgesson Nelson, was sixth of seven children. In the bustling household, her need for quiet time took her into a linen closet, where she would write endlessly, about the idyllic park where she grew up. With a core group of girlfriends, who would indulge her storytelling on frozen winter nights while walking home from the skating rink, Hill found her first receptive audience.

After moving to New York City to pursue dance the age of 21, she began her first two novels. She moved again to Los Angeles after two years, where she currently (and happily) resides with her husband, Happy Hill, and their three children, Jazz, Dakota, and Indiana.

Ooooh man, I was gungho to read this last week (even checked all the bookstores and somehow forgot Amazon exists), but after reading that bad Viking romance yesterday with some rapey scenes I’m not sure I could do this. It looks like Witchyman is written a lot better and has more freak factor added in.. I’d still be interested to read it. (Plus – CANADIAN! Woo woo!)

And I’m in Holland with 2 copies lying in my bookshelf, go figure :D. Yeah, if you thought that was bad, this’ll most likely be worse. Then again, it’s not like the female genital parts are described (I hope you get my point there) so it’s probably more the combo with the violence which is really disturbing. I just put Nyctophobia on my TRB now. Livin’ on the edge!

… Not sure what that says about Canada and Holland, but I think we relate a bit?
I definitely get what you’re saying – it takes a bit of a step back and is not as bad as it could have been….? Kind of? Even though it’s bad?

Is it kind of like watching a Criminal Minds or CSI show? The ones that go into disturbing detail??

I watched the beginning of one of those crime shows where a dude was kidnapped, drugged, and his leg from just above the knee down was cut off. He woke up in a strange motel without half his leg and I’ve been having nightmares of waking up without limbs – this morning I was missing teeth. I think only bad dreams can come of either Nyctophobia or Witchyman.

It looks so good! I’m unnaturally terrified of the dark without any help though, so I’m sure it’ll be a great review when I read this. 😉

I’ve been engaged to, and living together with a Canadian for over 2 years and yes, we’re definitely related! 😉 Do you also call your grandparents Opa and Oma? I thought that was just bare weird when I heard my mother-in-law say that! Yes, EXACTLY! 😀 Omg, that sounds so gross :/. You know they say missing teeth is secretly your subconscience telling you you’re afraid of getting older? I get those a LOT! Then again, I amgetting old pouts. Hahaha, better stack up those night lights xD

No, my dad’s from the East Coast so they’re Nan & Pop, and my mom’s side is just Grandma and Grandpa. I know lots of people who call their Grandparents Oma and Opa, though!
OH NO. It’s true but that sucks – you mean I’m going to have more teeth dreams?! Damn….

Love urban legends (though not so sure I’d love this one..)
Of course Pennywise is the first name that comes to mind. And Christine (also by Stephen King), I hate that car…
The most horrifying character for me, however, is Chucky from Childsplay. I must have been 7 or 8 when I watched the movie. I still had one of those glowy orange night lights and needless to say I nearly wet my bed when I saw the shadows of my dolls lying under the bed… Nightmares for days to come!

Yeah, this is more of an urban asshole instead of a legend ;). Ha! Chucky forever ruined my dolls for me as well. I would throw a blanket over them to stop them from staring at me. Crazy! Then again, I still plug in one of those orange night lights every time I go to bed blushes. Though not because I’m really afraid of the dark, but often tend to wake up completely disoriented. Now, there’s the night light to help me with recognizing my room sooner. Though I once mistook it for the eye of Sauron.. Thank you for sharing! ❤

Okay… this book sounds seriously disturbing. Like, disturbing to the max. So much so that it kind of eclipsed all the other aspects of the book which is a shame because it sounds like a perfectly creepy kind of read. I know I can handle some of it being about rape but if it gets too overpowering then it ruins the story for me too

Hi Anne! First of all, I want to thank you so much for taking the time to read my book! I really appreciate it and rather enjoyed the review, because I felt you really took a lot of time with it. I wasn’t sure whether to comment or not, but my social media lady encouraged me to. SO . . . yes, my book is disturbing and graphic. The reason for the violent nature and description of the rapes, is simply that rapes are violent and graphic. They are life altering for the victims. And unfortunately, the rapes in the beginning did and do happen. I tried to convey that because I feel that if you just say “someone was raped”, it becomes a part of the story — just something you read and only need imagine as far as you dare. It becomes a sentence you left on a page. But in truth, it stays with you forever. The description is what it is, because that’s what rape is. I hope this explains the nature of the writing. I know it’s hard to read, but I thank you from the bottom of my heart for being brave enough to continue, and for your wonderful compliments on my descriptions and writing in general. I absolutely loved the process and am looking forward to my next novel!

Hi Tina! Thank you for the in-depth comment!! It were truly your writing skills which made me continue reading :). Yeah, you can’t really flower up a rape scene, I’m well aware of that. It is what it is and I definitely admire your courage when it comes to putting these things on paper! I’m a rape victim myself and just thinking about it makes me nauseous, so reading about it was quite a chore! That doesn’t take away the fact that I still think it’s a brilliant look into the mind of a rapist. Not to sympathize with him, but just to understand where he’s coming from. Thank YOUfor taking a chance on me by sending the books all the way out here :). Can’t wait to see what you come up with next! (hopefully something I can endure better, though 😉 )

It will be Anne! I promise. And I am so sorry to hear about your rape. Everytime I hear something like that my heart breaks. You are a strong woman!! Take care of yourself, and I will be honored to have you review my next book!

Goodreads

Kindle Edition, 320 pages Published July 5th, 2016 by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) Okay, to be [...]

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